Workshop-FNCA2001
Workshop on Radioactive Waste Management

The FNCA 2001 - Workshop on Radioactive Waste Management was held from December 4 to 7, 2001, in Dalat, Vietnam. Vietnam Atomic Energy Commission (VAEC) hosted this Workshop as a local host and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, in cooperation with Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. (JAIF). 31 participants from nine FNCA members. i. e. Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam attended the workshop. Representatives involved in policy making, regulation, and R&D on Radioactive waste management from the nine participating countries under the framework of the FNCA. 25 reports and a special poster & video presentation and discussion focused on themes: consolidated report on radioactive waste management (RWM), spent radiation sources (SRS) storage, technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM), activity of the SRS Management Task Group and the rolling 3-year work plan on RWM. Beside that, a technical tour to the Nuclear Research Institute, Dalat (NRI) was conducted following the workshop.

Country Report on RWM

The drafts of the consolidated report on RWM were presented from each country. The format of the final consolidated report was discussed at the Round Table Discussion. The participants agreed to consider the level of detail in discussing each item and to use charts and table, to the extend possible for better understanding. The editing procedure for publication was also discussed and agreed as following:

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Send back Comments to All Countries until the end of December 2001.

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Submit Draft Report Rev. 1 to Editor until the end of February 2002.

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Review/Rearrange Draft Report Rev.1/Send back Draft Rev.1 to All Countries until the end of April 2002.

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Modify/Submit Draft Report Rev.2 until the end of June, 2002.

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Edit Report until the end of September, 2002

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Publication before the 2002 Workshop.

The participants exchanged opinions actively at the workshop

SRS Storage and TENORM

The status of the SRS storage was presented by each country and the information on the SRS management was exchanged. Many aspects of management of SRS storage were discussed. In the discussion on TENORM, the present situations in participating countries were presented, and discussion after the presentation highlighted general issues related to exclusion, exemption and clearance levels on TENORM waste management. The participants discussed this issue and plan further discussion in Korea. It was agreed that a presentation would be made on TENORM and ICRP Publication 82 at the next RWM Workshop in Korea.

The Rolling 3-year Work Plan on RWM

The rolling 3-year work plan in attachment-2 was agreed. The representative from Korea expressed his wish to host the next FNCA 2002 - Workshop on Radioactive Waste Management (tentatively at the end of November) with the MEXT. One day Sub-meeting will be organized by the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP). The topics suggested for the sub-meeting are (1) the Radioactive Waste from Decommissioning, (2) the Waste Characterization and (3) TENORM. The host candidate for the FNCA 2003-Workshop on Radioactive Waste Management is Indonesia. The continuation of Workshop on Radioactive Waste Management is strongly recommended to allow the planned program for addressing radioactive waste management issues to be completed. This program will contribute to the safe radioactive waste management and radiation protection in the FNCA countries in the context of the global environment. The agreed rolling 3-year work plan will be presented at the Coordinators Meeting to be held in March 2002, Tokyo.

Activity of the SRS Management Task Group

The first activity of the Project for the SRS Management Task Group was the Philippine- Japan Discussion/Survey Meeting on July 30 - August 3, 2001 in Manila at the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI). The second activity was the Thailand-Japan Discussion/Survey Meeting on August 20 - 24, 2001 in Bangkok at the Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP). Reports were given by the voluntary countries, the Philippines and Thailand. A Round Table Discussion was held on SRS management task group. It was agreed to continue the activity of SRS Management Task Group next FY 2002. Two other possible voluntary countries, Korea and Malaysia, have been listed subject to approval of their authorities for further discussion on this issues. A special poster and video presentation on development of Japanese high-level waste disposal program was made during the workshop. A technical tour to the Nuclear Research Institute, Dalat (NRI) was conducted following the workshop. The FNCA-2001 workshop on radioactive waste management was successfully held and the cooperative activities and project program proposed by this workshop will certainly be strengthened.